I stayed about 3.5 hours. I didn’t die. Ice Cube would say it was a good day.

Actually, it was better than good.

I had a fun time in Juarez.

Crazy, huh?

Everyone called me just that when I told them I was going to go to Juarez – the waitress at the El Paso restaurant I ate at my first night here, her friend who travels to Juarez regularly to visit his family, the girl at the front desk of my hotel, the Border Patrol guy at Hurricanes practice, and on and on.

Nice knowing you, one of my best friends said, joking. I think.

Sure, I knew the city of one-million plus people is widely regarded as the Murder Capital of the World.

I knew about all of the tragedy in Juarez, so many instances of brutal, savage and gruesome murders. Innocent people, locals and tourists, are killed daily — sometimes because of mistaken identity, sometimes because stray bullets find them.

But I was curious. When would I ever be in El Paso again, anyhow?

I wanted to witness life in Juarez, in part because I was convinced that embedded in all of the ugliness there were Juarez residents whose goodness hasn’t been robbed or killed by the violence. I would be right.

Here was my plan: After I filed my stories on the Hurricanes and the Sun Bowl Wednesday, I would drive to downtown El Paso, park my rental car and walk across the bridge.

Then I’d shop for some souvenirs, have some authentic Mexican food and then a couple of drinks at the historic Old Kentucky Club [way back during a much different time in Juarez, Marilyn Monroe bought a round for everyone in that bar. Ronald Reagan and John Wayne have also had a drink there, and allegedly the Margarita was originally invented there]. Then, just before it turned dark, I’d cross the border back into El Paso.

I wouldn’t be caught dead in Juarez at nighttime. I’m crazy, but I’m not dumb.

I was going to make sure I didn’t draw attention to myself. I wore two, long sleeve thermal shirts, a pair of old jeans and ratty sneakers. I left my watch, neck chain and diamond earrings at the hotel. The diamond stud in my nose – that stayed in. I took just my passport, my cell phone and $100 cash. Just in case I were to get robbed and would need some money, I stuck a $20 bill in my shoe.

I have to admit, I had gotten more and more nervous as I had read up on Juarez. The stories of violence were unsettling, especially since they were all true.

You know things are never as bad as you imagine they’ll be, but you still think outlandish things. The bridge includes three lanes for cars. On each side, there’s a walkway for pedestrians that’s fenced in – one side for those going into Juarez, the other for those going into El Paso.

I had heard it would take an hour or more to get into Mexico because of the wait time. In reality, it was about a 5 to 7 minute walk. On the other side, there was no one except a military guy toting a machine gun. You walk over the bridge straight into Mexico – no wait, no customs. It takes a few seconds to realize you’ve just walked out of one country into another.

I was really nervous for the first 20 minutes or so as I walked the streets, looking at the many closed businesses. The poverty was apparent. I wondered if accidentally bumping into, or making eye contact too long with, the wrong person would cost me my life. I went inside a cathedral. It looked cool from the outside, and I figured a prayer wouldn’t hurt either.

I sat on a bench, looked at the beautiful stained glass and wondered: Are churches off limits, or can you be fired upon in there, too? Later, I would realize just how ridiculous my thoughts had been.

I walked outside into a plaza with a Christmas tree nowhere near as extravagant as the ones you see in U.S. cities. It was decorated with orange and white ornaments. I saw a robust Mexican man dressed in a full Santa costume. He stood next to plastic reindeers and rang a bell. I laughed. I felt more at ease.

Near the plaza was an endless huge outdoor market that looked like one giant maze. I would get lost many times before I would leave.

All of a sudden, I heard a machine gun spitting out bullets. I freaked out for a second until I noticed it was from a movie being played on a small TV on one of the tables where CDs and DVDs were being sold.

Later, I passed another TV. That, too, was showing another movie with gunfire. I wondered why there weren’t comedies on.

If I lived here, surrounded by violence daily, I don’t know if I’d want to watch more of it on TV. Then again, maybe they’re so used to violence that they’re numb to it to some extent.

I had heard Juarez was like a war zone. And there were members of the Mexican military and police officers stationed with guns — but not nearly as many as I expected. In fact, I saw more military patrolling the streets when I visited Beijing three years ago.

In Juarez, I really didn’t notice them. I saw kids with skateboards laughing, three dogs wearing sweatshirts, adults wearing all of the name brand clothes we have in the U.S.

There is a lot of death and despair in this city, but there’s also life, too. There were street vendors selling clothes and shoes and CDs; roasted corn, flan, gorditas and much more. I saw a crowd gathered around a street performer. Blindfolded with a bandanna, he guessed what was on the playing card someone was holding up. Down the street there was another street performer.

From one of the stores, I heard Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Membrane,” Spanish version, blaring from a boom box. Later, I heard Lil Wayne and Vanilla Ice – in English.

Everywhere I turned, there were friendly people. Hardly anyone spoke English, at least more than a couple of words. I was able to get by pretty well with what Spanish I knew.

I grabbed some lunch – authentic Mexican food puts the Mexican food on the other side of the border to shame – and then went souvenir shopping. I grabbed the typical cheesy stuff and headed to the Old Kentucky Club. As I had a couple of beers, I thought of my afternoon. I felt bad for the people who live in Juarez, not just because of the violence they must deal with daily, but because there are some across the border who might not realize they exist, who figure Juarez is exclusively a city of thugs.

I left about 5:45 p.m. just as it was getting dark. The walk back was a breeze, just like the walk into Juarez. After I crossed the bridge back into El Paso, I waited in a short line. Then I handed my passport to the U.S. Customs officer. She asked what I had in the large plastic bag.

I listed off the things I had bought. She gave me a quizzical look and asked what I was doing in Juarez anyway? Oh, I just wanted to see the city, have some lunch and shop for some souvenirs, I told her. She laughed and handed me back my passport.

Comments (16 Comments)

“I felt bad for the people who live in Juarez, not just because of the violence they must deal with daily, but because there are some across the border who might not realize they exist, who figure Juarez is exclusively a city of thugs.”

Wow, a news story on something other than the violence. This is super refreshing! Thank you for taking the time to do this story, for being present in Juárez.

I am an American who has lived/worked in Juárez for over two years now. I read about the city almost everyday and this is one of the first stories I have read that focuses on the “life” of the city. You are right, the city is a dark, grim place but it is full of good, honest, everyday kind of people like you and me.

I will be re-posting your story on our blog site which is focused on shedding light and hope by being a voice, a friend and neighbor to our brothers and sisters across the border.

Thank you for a great article. So often we do lose sight of the fact that for many in Juarez, life goes on as normal and people do get out, celebrate the holidays, walk their dogs, etc…. The vast majority of people in Juarez are good and hard working and hate the fact that their city has been corrupted the way we are seeing it now. I commend you for going and experiencing the City. I agree, the article is refreshing.

I have family in Juarez still, so I can comment a bit on what life is like for those that live in the crime ridden city. Although your description of life in Juarez is refreshing, I feel it is a bit shallow in describing how “normal” life appears there.

Just a few points to touch on:
1. Getting into Juarez is as quick and easy as you’ve experienced. Getting back into the US is usually long and a hassle. By car you can expect 1-2 hours; by foot you can expect 1/2 hour to an hour. If you cross the bridge enough times you’ll learn that a few border patrol agents are nice and let you pass quickly, while others -especially female agents -are militaristic, rude and otherwise try to make your time as uncomfortable as possible.
2. When you see closed businesses in the US you figure they didn’t make it due to capital or marketing or something normal. When you see a closed business in Juarez now it is usually because the owners were threatened with a “quota” (tax money for the cartels) and either the owners didn’t pay and were killed or didn’t pay and preferred to shut down operations and/or leave town.
3. One of my relatives in Juarez has been through two armed robberies within a year, and his father has been robbed at gunpoint 5 times in the last 3 years. A relative on the other side of the family was threatened with a quota which he did not pay, and he was killed in December. Two acquaintances of the family were kidnapped last year, and another had an attempted kidnapping so he left town. Everyone in Juarez probably has someone in their family that has either been robbed, killed, or threatened. This doesn’t apply only to business owners, but if you touch any money for your employer even if you’re a grunt you are a target for extortion.
4. People in Juarez do go about their daily lives as normally as possible, just as we do here. People are poor but find happiness in family and friends. They do live daily with the fear that they will be robbed or not make it home. It is like playing a game of Russian roulette and you are an unwilling participant. You almost forget about the violence until something happens in your circle of family and friends. Then you want to leave town. But after a few weeks, you put it behind you and live normally until the next incident.

Sorry to rain on the parade. We all hope and look forward to the day when Juarez will be a safe and happy place to visit.

Thank you for detailing your experience. I am originally from El Paso and when I visit I do cross that bridge into Cd. Juarez. The colors are brighter. The people are simply that, people. While the violence is real, we lose sight of the fact that there is another side to all of that – the people.
I congratulate you on your journey. You did do the right thing by “toning down” your persona. Kidnapping is also an issue one must contend with in Cd. Juarez.

Thank you for this article and going to see how life keeps going amist this awful time. I miss Juarez so much I cant go visit family and only a few brave ones from my family still go because they have to.. I miss the feeling of being there, the smells the food family everything the party atmosphere it use to have at night ……I keep waiting for the senseless death to stop and for these people to give up ……..so my children can go and see where I came from .

Steve:
I’m glad that your visit in Juarez was great, I’m from Juarez and I can tell you that we live our lives normally, you visited the ugliest part of the city, and you had a great time, not all people live in poverty, I feel sorry for what we are living but is not the end of the world, fortunately me or my family has never been part of the violence here.
I really like your history, is real and objective.
And you are welcome to return to Juarez in the future!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the readers of this blog!

What you describe as a hassle we call security. Juarez had 3000+ murders last year while El Paso hade 5. Every minute an officer spends keeping the criminals out of our fine city makes El Paso safer and for that we are grateful.

I visit El Paso three or 4 times a year but haven’t been to Juarez since 2009. I really, really miss it because it was so gritty and alive – unlike anything American but so very close to the USA. I miss seeing the same characters and street vendors that were always there everytime I went even if it would be months in between.

Your article gives me hope that Juarez is not dead. Your family is probably furious with you that you made the journey; your experience may or not be typical in its safety. Well, I’m happy you went and wrote about it in a way I could feel myself there with you. Good luck in your career!

Glad to hear you had a great experience in Juarez – not the same for Canadians. Just recently Dec. 29 (two days prior to your own visit) me and my boyfriend decided to also check out this border town of El Paso and walked across the bridge into Juarez. On our walk across the bridge we were told by a U.S. border personnel that we (I guessed she assumed were Americans) could easily get back across in 15 minutes by using the express line crossing back. We were met by armed machine gun carrying army personnel when we reached the Mexico side. I felt very intimidated as we walked around because it was apparent that we were not from there. The city that we saw very poor and alot of the stores were closed and in disrepair. We decided not to stay long and proceeded back into the express line (there was about a 3-4 hour wait in the other line) which when we reached the end was met by a very rude and angry customs agent who said since we were not Americans we would have to go back in the long line-up. That was not a pleasant experience for us and I would not recommend any Canadians to cross over into Mexico this way – not worth the time and effect.

Your story is a nice account of a day in Juarez experienced as a tourist. What is hard to feel is the anxiety that one feels as you go into streets or neighborhoods to visit family or friends. Trust doesn’t exist when a person experiences the violence first hand, whether your money/valuables are being taken by the street gangs or the police. I spent about thirty years in the EP-Juarez area and the changes in the last three years is astonishing. I have moved from the area, so its difficult to get information. Be safe and cautious as you go

I’ve been in Juarez since tuesday nite. When I arrived around 8 pm tuesday, 2 students were shot to death. also, about 11 others were killed. the students were staying in a bad neighborhood, but the paper has never said where the 11 people were killed. Federales with blue lights were on every street that evening on the way to the hotel. I wonder if that’s where the bodies were found.

I’m in Juarez with my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter for consulate business. Everyone assures me this area (around consulate) is safe but I think if something happened here, they wouldn’t want it in the paper.

Notwithstanding, I’ve met some nice people here and I haven’t hid in the room, but we don’t venture too far either. the scariest time we had was finding the bus station. My daughter and I had to pick up son-in-law and got a little lost. Yes, I’m crazy enough to drive here. It’s not near as complicated as Mexico city to drive in, but I wasn’t scared in Mexico city of landing in a bad neighborhood.